Santa Cruz's long history
Santa Cruz Skateboards began its journey in 1973, making it the longest-continuously running hardware company within the skate industry. Being around for over 50 years is something most surf and skateboard companies can only dream of. It's only achieved through a tireless determination to ensure they are not only pushing boundaries within the scene but also keeping their ear to the ground with what each generation of skaters resonates with. As any skater long enough in the tooth knows, skateboarding is a volatile industry with trends shifting and emerging in what feels like a heartbeat. So, to create a brand that maintains its identity whilst still being flexible enough to traverse the ever-shifting sands of whatever is in vogue at the time is an incredible achievement. So how did three surfers create such a beast of a skateboard company?
Rick, Doug and Jay took the first letter of each of their second names and created NHS, a company that initially started to design and shape surfboards. However, because of tight margins and low demand in the surf world, the business got off to a slow start. That was until a company from Hawaii took a chance and asked if NHS would fabricate 500 skateboards for them. Using the surplus fibreglass they had lying around (yep, Santa Cruz is that old the decks weren't even made from wood yet), and took a punt on making them. These skateboards sold better than anything they had made before, and it didn't take long until another batch of 500 was quickly produced. Thus starting the Santa Cruz Skateboards journey.
Changing technology and innovation
From there on out, Santa Cruz ensured it was at the very forefront of skateboard hardware technology. During the '70s and '80s, technology within skateboarding was evolving at a rate we have never seen since, with clay wheels being replaced by urethane, decks moving from fibreglass to wooden ply constructions, deck shapes that include upturned noses and various concave options. Well, just as they wanted to be, Santa Cruz was unquestionably one of the most successful innovators of skateboarding, as they had a substantial part to play in all the technology developments through that period.
During the early '70s, clay wheels became yesterday's news, and urethane would revolutionise how a skateboard reacted to the ground it rode upon. However, the wheels were still using loose ball bearings, so Santa Cruz enhanced the usability of the urethane wheel even further, placing precision bearings within the wheels for added durability and speed. By 1976, 6 million of Santa Cruz's 'Rough Rider' wheels had sold worldwide. The success of the Rough Riders wheels was huge for Santa Cruz, giving the company plenty of money to invest in the innovation and development of basically every other component of a skateboard. For example, by 1978, NHS founded possibly the most successful skateboard truck company ever, Independent Trucks. But that's a story for another time...
By the 1980s, Santa Cruz began to focus on deck shapes and technology. Not only were Santa Cruz boards the first to come with concave options as well as the vital upturned nose but you could also pick how steep you wanted the kick of the nose to be. This allowed skateboarders to experiment even further with deck shapes and discover what worked best for their skate style.
Later down the line, the Everslick boards were developed, this involved a slick fibreglass panelling placed on the bottom ply of the deck, creating a deck that slid far longer and faster than an average laminated ply deck ever could! Interestingly, one innovative idea from Santa Cruz that didn't manage to keep on being produced was the NuWood technology, released in 1994. NuWood was an injected-moulded plastic deck construction that was far more durable than an average 7-ply deck, and on top of that, once the deck had reached the end of its life, you could return it to Santa Cruz so the deck could be recycled into a brand new board! Cutting-edge stuff. To this day, Everslick technology is prevalent in Santa Cruz's deck offerings, as well as their VX construction, which uses two sheets of carbon fibre (named Quad X technology) within 5-plys of the deck, allowing the deck to pop harder for longer, whilst being lighter and thinner than an average 7-ply.
Art, design and Jim Phillips
Innovation does only get you so far though, especially in skateboarding, where aesthetics often reign supreme. Alongside function you need fashion, so it was vitally important to make the products as visually appealing to skateboarders as possible. Santa Cruz started working with Jay Shuirman and Jim Phillips, who teamed up to create the infamous Classic Dot logo, and shortly after that, Jim created the equally iconic 'Screaming Hand' logo. Once established as the key man behind Santa Cruz graphics, Jim was on an absolute tear, leaving a wake of some of the most well-loved graphics skateboarding has ever seen. For example, the Jason Jessee Poseidon, Salba Tiger and Grosso Toybox to name a few. Ultimately, Jim was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2017 for his contributions to the skate world with his unbelievably detailed and vibrant graphics. Something we arguably see very little of in the modern world of deck graphics. This can be seen when exploring the market for vintage Santa Cruz decks, with prices easily reaching four-digit figures! Not only that, Santa Cruz often reissues designs and shapes from their archives, which when released, often sell out on the very first day.
Santa Cruz's skateboard team
Having just mentioned the likes of Salba and Jeff Grosso, it's a perfect time to mention the absolute behemoth of a skate team Santa Cruz has managed to curate and film over the years. Because of their innovative approach to technology and graphics, it's easy to see how the team for Santa Cruz has always had some of the biggest rider names in the industry. The very first video released by Santa Cruz was “Wheels of Fire” and included full parts for Jeff Kendall, Salba and Natas, three of the most influential and boundary-pushing skateboarders of the time. Since then and to this day, Santa Cruz has consistently produced high-quality full-length skate videos. With a team including the likes of Erik Winkowski, Tom Asta, Jake Wooten and Fabiana Delfino, the hype around Santa Cruz hasn't diminished at all.
Over the past couple of decades, because of their continued success, Santa Cruz has also been able to really dive into the world of apparel and expand that side of the business. They now have one of the largest ranges of both male and female clothing design available for shops or customers to order. Hard-wearing denim, classically styled flannel shirts and high-quality hoodies feature heavily in their catalogues, as well as a large range of accessories such as sunglasses, beanies and even underwear. Taking the same philosophy they used for their hardware, fashion and function is equally important, creating a clothing line that's loved by not just skateboarders, but anyone who opts for well-constructed and designed clothing with a surf/skate aesthetic. Santa Cruz is one of the all-time great board sports companies and we very much look forward to what the future holds for them.
